Eternity
by Cysha
Summary: All of the ES members know that they are immortal. But so far it only meant a few centuries of galaxy-saving missions and wars. But what happens when an ES member lives for thousands of years? Tens of thousands? Hundreds of thousands? More? Eternity can have terrifying consequences.


Eternity

An ES member can lose herself in time. The countless seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years, decades, and finally centuries can all pass all too easily in a ceaseless blur. Your time never runs out. But there is always some point in your life that you manage to stop in for a while. A time that isn't eaten up by countless missions and endless days. A time in which you finally change in some way, after all those years of never aging and never changing. Maybe you broke free of the monotony of life that is that of an ES member. Maybe there was a moment you were momentarily trapped in because you knew you wouldn't experience anything else like it, even with all those years ahead and behind. Or maybe everything around you changed, and you were forced to change to, and for better or worse, nothing else was quite the same.

* * *

The revolution of the commoners against the Nouvlesse were one of those grand events in history that left a significant mark on every ES member's life.

For the first time in centuries, those born on earth and those born deep amongst the stars were equals. Commoners rolled in the grasses on earth, they took positions in the highest levels of government, and they acquired riches and luxuries previously only available to the upper class.

Many Nouvlesse shook their head in anger and shame, now sharing the same sidewalk with the commoners. Others still packed what riches they could carry and fled from their homes and their power, fearful that their corruption would be exposed. But others experimented. They tried nanomachines to alter their faces, they died their hair and changed their clothes. They took residence in large cities deep in space, away from home.

The ES members who had once been virtually slaves of the Nouvlesse now rejoiced and called themselves "protectors of the galaxy." Their leaders were kinder and they had more freedom in their lives. But one thing didn't change: they still weren't allowed to die.

* * *

On the day the commoners passed through the gates of the GU senate, her partner brought home a bottle of champagne that probably cost him too much and two glasses.

"We won," he said.

* * *

Eclair and Lumiere were the faces of change.

Had she not known it was them, they would be unrecognizable by now.

Not only were they the symbol for the revolution, but their faces and their bodies and their clothes changed, seemingly to match the times. Or maybe they'd had an unfortunate run in with some angry supporters of the Nouvlesse. Their hair and eyes glistened with new color, their bodily proportions were all different, and they sported the latest fashions that would fit their new forms. Their attitudes changed sometimes. Mental change was sometimes the only kind of change that an ES member could manage.

Eclair wore her hair in the free manner that she always did, cascading down her back, tied up as little as possible, but it was now a flaming red. She looked older and curvier than her previous two bodies. Her eyes had changed from gold to red to blue over the past two years. She now wore the latest fashion - an outlandish dress with gold heart pendants. She bore all two and a half centuries worth of memories and she showed it. Her face was wiser, her actions smoother, more collected, but she never quite did lose the youthful energy and spice she was famous around the GOTT for. Lumiere changed less, if possible. She'd never lost her memories, so she always retained a sense of calm, though perhaps she was less worried nowadays. Her body had changed - she was stockier, but taller. Lumiere's hair had changed from blue to green, and her eyes were a preposterous shade of purple, but they worked, at least. Her latest fashion was slightly more reasonable - she wore the latest designer skirt dress for girls.

Eclair and Lumiere loved sporting new forms, she knew. Others preferred to freeze themselves in time. She heard that Un-oh and A-oh hadn't ever changed form. Of course, they wore the same clothes on they did a hundred years ago. They wanted to freeze themselves in time, pin themselves to an era, all while forced forward into the future. It wasn't that they weren't happy to be free, rather, they were trapped in times even more important to them than this era. Eclair and Lumiere enjoyed turning with the times, doing all they could to age themselves, although they were never quite successful.

What did she prefer? Oh, she is too comfortable in her body now. She's spent a century and half in it. She happily sported a wig and glasses to go undercover, and she tried to change her hair and her clothes for the times (when she remembered) but she knows her body too well. As for her partner, well, she is far too accustomed to waking up to his same face beside her. Perhaps some familiarity in an ever-changing world is important.

* * *

They were happier now, too.

No single word in the world could describe the happiness of Eclair's face when she held her son, Che. No longer bound by regulation, she could now love him as a mother should her son. She brightened each day with her many stories about her son's antics, and she seemed more elated with each one. Everyone knew that her mind was no longer plagued by flashes of grievous memories from a bloody past. She'd seemed to have developed an amazing new ability to learn from them, and restrain them if necessary. Often times, she'd go about the GOTT spunting wisdom from her seemingly infinite supply of experiences and lessons from life.

Perhaps the shifts in Lumiere's behavior were more subtle. She's always kept a calm, ladylike demeanor. She showed openness and kindness to everyone, but rarely revealed distress unless in a crisis. It was for this reason that her newfound ease was less apparent. But if one had known her for a long time, or was observant - she was both - could notice a few more smiles on her face than usual, and confidence in her stride.

There was a certain joy in seeing the people you love change for the better.

* * *

They showed the trial of the leaders of the Deucalion project on television one saturday night. She sat on the couch, fists clenched, watching as the hours ticked by, eyes beginning to water sometime after midnight.

She never seen Nouvlesse face justice for their actions. She never seen them so equal or honest with the commoners.

Her partner came out of the bedroom a before two.

"What are you still doing up?" he asked.

"Watching the trial," she answered. "I've never seen anything like it." And then she laughed.

And he joined her, he too transfixed.

* * *

But how long before you lost that important thing? How quickly did your memory fade, leaving only a few key events in pale detail within your mind? How soon did that change just become a part of modern life? How soon did more urgent and devastating or even happy events shift your attention elsewhere? How soon did the changes you made fade away before your own eyes?

You could lose yourself in the moment just as easily as you can lose yourself in the flow of time. You become too comfortable with the present, with whatever joys and sorrows accompany it, whatever events or people or places mark that time, but you'll eventually outlive that way of life.

Once again, you'll face the harsh reality of immortality.


End file.
